Methamphetamine Abuse Treatment in HIV Prevention

At a glance:

Gay and bisexual males who use methamphetamine are at extremely high risk for HIV infection. Methamphetamine use in this population is highly associated with risky sexual behavior, with users of the drug reporting an increased number of sexual partners, decreased use of condoms, and an increased likelihood of being HIV-infected or having a sexually transmitted disease.

This study (1) adopted, tailored and transferred an evidenced-based, gay-specific cognitive behavioral therapy (GCBT) intervention for methamphetamine-abusing gay and bisexual males from a research setting for use in a community-based HIV prevention setting; (2) optimized the GCBT intervention by coupling it with a contingency management (CM) intervention to create one behavioral intervention for producing sustained HIV sexual and drug risk reductions; and (3) developed a continuing care intervention to support and maintain longer-term behavior changes.

171 gay or bisexual males who meet criteria for methamphetamine abuse were enrolled into the 16-week behavioral intervention consisting of GCBT+CM during weeks 1 through 8, and Continuing Care+CM during weeks 9 through 16. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 8-week, 16-week, and 26-week post admission. Findings from this study will inform the field on best practices for providing HIV prevention interventions specifically designed for methamphetamine-abusing gay and bisexual males.